Dear Menlo Park council members,
Admittedly I’m not very well informed on the full proposal to switch from gas to electric appliances—I’ve only seen some discussion on next door—but I would like to write to you with some comments about the proposed natural gas ban. I am in favor of the ban. I think we need to do all that we can as a community to stave off and reverse the effects of human-induced climate change. I would like to see the council present additional measures that will be taken to encourage and require large corporations and larger polluters in our community to shift away from fossil fuels and carbon emissions as I am convinced that individuals and small consumers do not have the power to fix the climate change problem on our own. I also think that there needs to be a plan (if there’s not already) to subsidize the shift from gas to electric appliances. It is a large cost for homeowners and landlords and the benefits are for the entire community so I believe the community should help to foot the bill. I would also like to point out that I have recently been converted from a adamant gas stove cooker to electric after I read some information about both the emissions from natural gas as well as the environmental hazards and the air quality problems within the home. We have a young child and it no longer makes sense to me to have gas coursing through the pipes in my home and on my streets even though for years I have preferred cooking on gas to electric. Electric stoves have improved vastly and I don’t think the advantages of gas are still significant.
Thank you for considering the opinions of your constituents and thank you for your service,
Anne Hereford
Roble Ave.
